THIS TV POLICY REVIEW will not be an easy thing.
The new Conservative government certainly wants a say. The CBC’s TV licenses are up for renewal at the same time. Private broadcasters are demanding a fee for the carriage of their signals, a way to deal with distant signals, more ad time per hour and since the high definition conversion is under way and very expensive, maybe the right to abandon tower transmission. Televised dramatic programming is resurgent Stateside but there are few new Canadian-made dramas and not enough money in the current system to make enough of them….
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TORONTO – Six important Canadian independent record labels resigned from the Canadian Recording Industry Association last week over the organization’s submission to the CRTC’s Radio Policy Review.
"It is with regret that we have arrived at this juncture, but it has become increasingly clear over the past few months that CRIA’s position on several important music industry issues are not aligned with our best interests as independent recording artists," says the letter.
It was signed by Pegi Cecconi of Anthem Records, Donald Tarleton (Donald K Donald) of Aquarius Records, Michelle Henderson of The Children’s Group, Geoff Kulawick of Linus…
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TORONTO – CHUM Limited reported a solid second quarter on Thursday but company executives also warned of a softer second half of fiscal 2006 and addressed some of the regulatory issues faced by Canadian broadcasters.
Consolidated revenue in the second quarter, ended February 28, increased by 7.8% to $152.4 million compared to Q2 2005. Consolidated EBITDA increased by 30% to $19.2 million. For the six months ended February 28, 2006, revenue was up 12.3% to $339.2 million and EBITDA increased 17.5% to $67.9 compared to the first half of fiscal 2005.
CHUM’s net earnings in the second quarter increased by…
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CALGARY – "It’s not our problem that if someone’s in TV and then they buy newspapers so now they don’t make any money," said Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw, responding to a question on the potential for retransmission fees being paid to Canadian broadcasters by MSOs.
During a conference call with financial analysts Thursday presenting the company’s second quarter financials, Shaw said he thought any CRTC TV policy review would have a light impact on cable and if any new fees arise, they would just be passed on through to cable customers anyway.
CanWest Global CEO Leonard Asper has…
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OTTAWA – Contrary to how Canada’s incumbent telcos spun last week’s local forbearance decision, the deregulation process will not take a year or more, says the chair of the CRTC.
Last week, upon release of the CRTC’s local forbearance decision (which set out the rules upon which local telephony deregulation will happen), ILECs such as Bell, Telus and Aliant were up in arms, not just about the terms of deregulation, but of the process. They claimed it could take up to 18 months from an application to deregulation.
No way, CRTC chairman Charles Dalfen told www.cartt.ca on Wednesday. Four…
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OTTAWA – Mobile phone customers will not see the video available on their phone screens impacted by regulation, the CRTC announced this morning.
The Commission determined that the services provided by Bell Mobility, Rogers Wireless and Telus Mobility, in conjunction with MobiTV Inc., fall within the Commission’s New Media Exemption Order, which applies to services that are delivered and accessed over the Internet.
The Commission also determined that mobile television services, whether or not they are delivered and accessed over the Internet, should also be exempt from regulation, and issued a public notice asking for the input of Canadians…
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WHERE DO YOU START when talking about someone who has more years in the business than I have on this earth? Simple. Quit yammering and let the man talk. What follows is an edited transcript of a conversation between Cartt.ca’s editor and publisher Greg O’Brien and CHUM’s vice-president, industry affairs and digital radio operations, Duff Roman (right), to mark his entry into his sixth decade in broadcasting.
Greg O’Brien: Let’s talk about your 50 years in broadcast.
Duff Roman: Most of the time it doesn’t feel like 50 years.
GOB: What does it feel like then?…
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TORONTO – Covering all segments of the Canadian telecommunications and IT industry, The Canadian Telecom Summit brings together the leaders of all industry sectors – service providers, manufacturers, applications providers, policy makers and regulators.
With two major pronouncements from different government bodies regarding the state of competitiveness of Canada’s telecommunications industry – the Telecom Policy Report and the CRTC’s local forbearance decision, which in some clauses appear to contradict each other – it will be very interesting to see how the new Minister of Industry, Maxime Bernier, juggles the interests of all industry players, consumers and the business sector.
He…
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WINNIPEG – After reporting a consolidated net loss of $19 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2006 (way off the $28 million earned during the same time last year), CanWest Global Communications CEO Leonard Asper renewed his persistent calls for a regulatory overhaul.
Asper said he was pleased to read that the CRTC is considering a review of its television policy. "More and more, the CRTC is taking a market-driven approach, so we do think there will be a rebalancing of the television system, allowing conventional television stations to have the same revenue opportunities as other television…
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OTTAWA – It’s a bit past the 150-day decision promise, but the CRTC’s decision on local telephone market forbearance will be out this afternoon.
The release and a conference call are scheduled for 4 p.m. Look for cartt.ca reports shortly thereafter.
Spurred by a request made by Aliant to deregulate its eastern markets due to the severe customer losses at the hands of local cable firm EastLink (which top 30% in some areas), the Commission hosted a week-long public hearing in September, as reported extensively by cartt.ca.
Two of the key issues all are waiting on are: the threshold…
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